ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- When Tyler Brayton got back to the Oakland locker room after being ejected for kneeing Seattle tight end Jerramy Stevens in the groin, he counted on facing a suspension.

The infraction happened on national television and he heard the commentators compare him to Tennessee cheap-shot artist Albert Haynesworth, making a suspension seem like an inevitable punishment.

The NFL spared Brayton a suspension Wednesday, ruling that Stevens was also to blame for the altercation and fining both players instead. Brayton got docked $25,000 and Stevens will lose $15,000 for their behavior in Seattle's 16-0 victory over Oakland on Monday night.

"I feel like I let a lot of people down. I embarrassed myself, my family, the Raiders organization, the entire NFL," Brayton said. "For that, I apologize. I kind of allowed my personal frustrations and emotions to get the best of me. My actions are inexcusable, provoked or unprovoked. I also apologize to Jerramy Stevens and Seattle Seahawks. Doesn't matter what the situation was, I had no right to do that."

Gene Washington, the NFL's director of football operations, ruled that Stevens attempted to kick Brayton in the groin area on the same play, leading to his fine.

Washington also ruled that Stevens head-butted and taunted Oakland safety Stuart Schweigert on a play in the second quarter that drew a personal foul. Stevens was not ejected from the game.

Stevens refused comment through a team spokesman after the Seahawks practiced in Kirkland, Wash.

Teammate Julian Peterson said he "couldn't stand" Stevens when Peterson played in San Francisco prior to this season, because Stevens "knows how to rub people the wrong way."

"It's sort of like that gnat that keeps on being around you. You're like, 'Man, get away. You end up trying to slap it all the time," Peterson said, slapping his arm.

Raiders coach Art Shell made a point Tuesday of showing the league why he believed Stevens was the instigator, a contention Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren disagreed with.

"You get two teams, two coaches, you look at the same play and see it differently. I mean, that's pretty normal," he said. "We all want the same thing, for the game to be played properly, within the rules, all those things. And sometimes it's necessary to send a message. I certainly will have my opinions. I will keep them to myself, though."

Holmgren said he did talk to his players Wednesday about what he called "selfish" acts that take away from the team's objectives. He said he would talk to Stevens specifically later in the week.

"Those are things that really bother me a lot," Holmgren said. "It is such a great game, and such a great team effort to get something done, that to have someone put themselves above the team in any way, it just bothers me. That's a no-no. I ranted and raved a little bit this morning. But I think I explained to them why. They got to know how I feel."

Brayton said he expected a suspension after hearing comparison's to Haynesworth, who was suspended for five games by the NFL earlier this year for stomping on Dallas center Andre Gurode's face.

He admitted it's difficult to watch the play again.

"It's ugly from my end no matter what you look at it," he said. "A bigger man would have walked away and I'm disappointed in myself for that. But every time I look at the TV, I just cringe. That's not the type of player that I want to be."

Brayton addressed his teammates before practice Wednesday to apologize to them.

"I'm just happy they didn't get suspended," Shell said. "There was talk about that. I was happy they didn't get suspended. Tyler spoke to the team about what happened. That's not Tyler. He just reacted to a situation that was not a good situation."

Brayton's teammates came to his defense, saying Brayton wouldn't do that type of thing without being provoked. Defensive tackle Warren Sapp said he'd even pay part of Brayton's fine, if necessary.

"He's a good guy, a great dude. He's a coach's dream, no doubt about it," Sapp said. "He's exactly what you would want out of your football player. The other dude? You wouldn't want him on your ballclub. You wouldn't want to be around him."

For me the thing of it is that this is football. Outside of Boxing, Wrestling or any of the other 1 on 1 fighting sports. Football is the ultimate full contact sport. Disagreements or retaliation can be accomplished within the rules of the sport.
Pretty silly to me that players can't control themselves until the next play.